Material on the Nelson Rockefeller vice presidency, management of the Domestic Council, many domestic policy issues, drafting of the 1976 and 1977 State of the Union addresses, and Ford's FY1978 budget.

QUANTITY
16 linear feet (ca. 32,000 pages)

DONOR
James M. Cannon (accession numbers 83-48, 88-17)

ACCESS
Open. Some items may be temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
James Cannon donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by William McNitt, May 1984 (Revised 1986 and July 1988)
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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

James M. Cannon

1918 - Born, Sylacauga, Alabama

1939 - B.S., University of Alabama

1939-40 - Served in the U.S. Army

1940-41 - Worked for Burroughs Adding Machine Company

1941-46 - Served in the U.S. Army

1947-48 - Reporter for the Potsdam (NY) Herald-Recorder

1948-49 - Reporter for the Gloversville (NY) Leader-Republican

1949-54 - Reporter for the Baltimore Sun; in 1950 and 1951 he served as a foreign correspondent

1954-56 - Contributing editor for Time magazine

1956-69 - Employed by Newsweek magazine; his positions included: National Affairs Editor, Washington correspondent, Chief of Correspondents, and Vice President and Assistant to the Publisher

1969-73 - Special Assistant to New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller for Federal, State and Intergovernmental affairs; his main responsibility was liaison between the State of New York and the White House and Congress

Jan.-Aug. 1974 - Special Assistant to Nelson A. Rockefeller with the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans

Aug.-Dec. 1974 - Employed by Rockefeller Brothers and Associates; during this time he served as Nelson A. Rockefeller's congressional liaison for the vice presidential confirmation hearings

1981 - Chief of Staff for the office of Senator Howard Baker and Administrative Assistant to the Senate Majority Leader

INTRODUCTION

The papers of James M. Cannon, 1974-79, relate to his brief service as an assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and to his dual role of Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Executive Director of the Domestic Council, 1975-77. Well documented topics include Vice President Rockefeller's role in the Ford Administration, a small number of key issues (especially those Cannon Worked on toward the end of his White House service), and the administration of the Domestic Council. The material comprises a valuable supplement to the Cannon files which the Ford Library received as part of President Ford's papers in January 1977.

Because Cannon had a long-time relationship with Nelson Rockefeller and was one of the highest ranking Rockefeller associates in the White House, his papers reveal much about Rockefeller's role in the administration. One small series documents Cannon's work while on Rockefeller's Vice Presidential staff, Dec. 1974 - Feb. 1975. Additionally, Cannon's general subject series include 900 pages under the heading "Vice President" and scattered items elsewhere showing Cannon's interactions with Rockefeller and Rockefeller's role in supervising the work of the Domestic Council. Much of Cannon's post administration series is also Rockefeller related, including transcripts of unpublished interviews with Ford and Rockefeller about Rockefeller's role in the Administration.

Cannon's papers are especially strong for three topics on which he worked in the closing weeks of the administration. These are: the status of Puerto Rico (especially President Ford's statehood proposal), Domestic Council input for the 1977 State of the Union address, and the latter stages of the FY 1978 budget process. Cannon's large file on the 1976 State of the Union address is also included, presumably because it was used as a background for his work on the 1977 speech. Significant but smaller files appear on such topics as energy, a health policy White paper, the nuclear policy statement of October 1986, and regulatory reform.

Researchers will find most or all of Cannon's material on other policy issues in his Ford Papers files rather than in this collection. Many of the folders on issue here contain only fragmentary or duplicative items.

Significant materials on the organization and administration of the Domestic Council include: staff meeting minutes, weekly staff work reports, and files on changes planned by Cannon, Rockefeller and others in the weeks just before Cannon transferred from the vice presidential staff in March 1975. Approximately 500 pages relates to the 1977 transition to the Carter administration, including material on a Domestic Council transition report and a report which Cannon helped Rockefeller to write giving advice to Walter Mondale, the new Vice President.

Related Materials
(July 1988)
The most important related materials in the Library are the Cannon files among President Ford's papers. Staff files of Domestic Council staff members are also related, especially those of Sam Halper and Dean Overman for Puerto Rico; and those of Arthur Quern for the 1976 State of the Union address, the FY1978 budget, and Domestic Council administration. White House Central Files category FG 39 has additional materials on Vice President Rockefeller and his role in the administration.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Assistant to Vice President Rockefeller File, 1974‑75.
(Boxes 1‑2, 0.5 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, reports, telephone messages, notes, clippings, and publications concerning such topics as: Rockefeller's confirmation as Vice President, the vice presidential staff, changes made in U.S. Senate cloture rules in 1975, and planning the organization and operation of the Domestic Council in the weeks just before Cannon and Rockefeller assumed their new roles with it. Note: the Cannon chronological file (Box 25) also contains about 100 pp. re Cannon's service on the vice presidential staff.

General Subject File, 1975-77.
(Boxes 2-12, 4.3 linear feet)
Memoranda, briefing papers, speeches, schedules, clippings, and publications. This series concerns a variety of domestic issues, government agencies, and programs. It also documents Cannon's interactions with Vice President Rockefeller; the vice presidential staff; and the nation's governors, especially James Rhodes of Ohio. Topics include: the status of Puerto Rico, energy, a health policy white paper, the nuclear policy statement of October 1976, and regulatory reform.

State of the Union Address File, 1975-77.
(Boxes 13-15, 1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, speech drafts, meeting minutes, and reports concerning Domestic Council input into the 1976 and 1977 State of the Union addresses. Cannon and Arthur Quern solicited recommendations from their staff and from the Cabinet, presented reports to the President, and reviewed speech drafts prepared by Robert Hartmann and the Editorial Staff.

Domestic Council Administrative File, 1975-77.
(Boxes 18-24, 2.5 linear feet)
Memoranda, staff meeting minutes, budget requests and testimony, an activities inventory, a study of domestic needs and major policy problems, "morning reports" on upcoming deadlines, Cannon's weekly reports to the President, and the Council staff's weekly work reports. This series also relates to the 1977 transition, including a Domestic Council transition report and advice from Vice President Rockefeller to Vice President-elect Walter Mondale.

Chronological File, 1975-77.
(Boxes 25-34, 3.8 linear feet)
Carbon copies of outgoing memoranda and correspondence, mostly relating to domestic issues and Domestic Council administration. About 100 pages relates to Cannon's work on Vice President Rockefeller's staff in January and February 1975.

Post-Ford Administration File, 1977-79.
(Boxes 34-35, 0.6 linear feet)
Transcripts of interviews conducted by various individuals with Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller concerning Rockefeller's role in the administration, papers by scholars on Rockefeller and on the Domestic Council, obituaries and notes for Cannon's tribute at Rockefeller's memorial service (Jan. 1979), and fragmentary files on some of Cannon's activities in 1977 after leaving the Domestic Council.